Sphingolipidomics analysis of large clinical cohorts. Part 2: Potential impact and applications

It has been known for decades that the regulation of sphingolipids (SLs) is essential for the proper function of many cellular processes. However, a complete understanding of these processes has been complicated by the structural diversity of these lipids. A well-characterized metabolic pathway is r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2018-10, Vol.504 (3), p.602-607
Main Authors: Chong, Joyce R., Xiang, Ping, Wang, Wei, Hind, Tatsuma, Chew, Wee Siong, Ong, Wei-Yi, Lai, Mitchell K.P., Herr, Deron R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
Autoimmune disease
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS
Cancer
Ceramide
Dementia
Lipidomics
METABOLIC DISEASES
NEOPLASMS
NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES
Neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (nSMase2)
Sphingolipid
Sphingomyelin
Sphingomyelinase
SPHINGOMYELINS
Sphingosine-1-phosphate
Stroke
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Summary:It has been known for decades that the regulation of sphingolipids (SLs) is essential for the proper function of many cellular processes. However, a complete understanding of these processes has been complicated by the structural diversity of these lipids. A well-characterized metabolic pathway is responsible for homeostatic maintenance of hundreds of distinct SL species. This pathway is perturbed in a number of pathological processes, resulting in derangement of the “sphingolipidome.” Recently, advances in mass spectrometry (MS) techniques have made it possible to characterize the sphingolipidome in large-scale clinical studies, allowing for the identification of specific SL molecules that mediate pathological processes and/or may serve as biomarkers. This manuscript provides an overview of the functions of SLs, and reviews previous studies that have used MS techniques to identify changes to the sphingolipidome in non-metabolic diseases. •Sphingolipids have diverse biological roles in essentially every eukaryotic cell.•An understanding of these roles is improving due to advances in mass spectrometry.•Resulting sphingolipidomic profiles are becoming increasingly detailed.•This improves our understanding of disease and identifies potential biomarkers.•This review discusses biomedical applications of sphingolipidomics.
ISSN:0006-291X
1090-2104
DOI:10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.04.075